Head of Licensing

About Overchain

Overchain is the settlement layer for global businesses moving money across fiat and stablecoins. We provide the infrastructure that allows financial institutions, payment service providers, brokerages, fund administrators, and large corporates to receive, convert, and settle value at institutional speed and standards, with compliance built in from the ground up. We sit at the intersection of traditional finance and digital assets. Our founders come from institutional FX and payments, and the business is run with the same discipline: deep banking integrations, reliable execution, OTC depth, and white-glove service for clients that move serious money. Robust licensing is the moat in our space and one of the single biggest contributors to long‑term enterprise value.

We are now hiring a Head of Licensing to own and accelerate Overchain’s global licensing roadmap.

The Role

You’ll own Overchain’s global licensing strategy and execution end to end. You’ll work directly with the founders to identify which jurisdictions to pursue and in what order, then run multiple applications in parallel to get Overchain authorised quickly and credibly across our priority markets. We have the core policy stack in place, which means the bulk of an application can be prepared and tailored at speed. What we need is someone dynamic and fast‑moving who can turn that foundation into a portfolio of granted licences across the jurisdictions that matter most for our commercial roadmap. This is first‑boots‑on‑the‑ground for the licensing function. You’ll start as the sole owner with the means to build out a team as the portfolio grows, working closely with the founders, compliance, legal, and product. The institutional shift toward stablecoin‑based settlement is creating real opportunity for businesses that build the strongest licensing perimeter early, and this role sits at the centre of how Overchain captures it.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and execute Overchain’s global licensing roadmap, working with the founders to prioritise jurisdictions based on commercial value, regulatory complexity, and strategic fit.
• Run multiple licence applications in parallel, owning timelines, quality, and outcomes across the full portfolio.
• Tailor and adapt Overchain’s existing policy stack to the requirements of each jurisdiction, moving quickly without compromising on quality.
• Lead direct engagement with regulators, including pre‑application meetings, formal submissions, RFIs, and ongoing dialogue.
• Manage external counsel and local advisers across jurisdictions, keeping execution tight and fees under control.
• Coordinate internally across compliance, legal, finance, and product to pull together everything an application requires.
• Track regulatory developments across priority and watch‑list jurisdictions and surface commercial implications for the business.
• Own ongoing regulatory obligations across granted licences, including reporting, variations of permission, audits, and supervisory engagement.
• Support fundraising and M&A processes by presenting the licensing roadmap credibly to VC, PE, and strategic investors.
• Build the operating model and, over time, the team to scale licensing as the portfolio grows.

Requirements

• 6–10 years of experience in regulatory, licensing, or compliance roles within crypto, payments, EMIs, or financial services.
• Hands‑on track record of taking licence applications across the line, not just maintaining authorisations once granted.
• Direct experience running applications across multiple jurisdictions, ideally in parallel.
• Confident engaging regulators directly and representing the firm credibly in formal and informal settings.
• Strong project management instincts and the ability to run several complex workstreams at once without losing momentum.
• Pragmatic and commercial mindset, with judgement on when to push regulators and when to accept feedback to keep applications moving.
• Working understanding of stablecoin and digital asset infrastructure as it applies to institutional settlement, treasury, and embedded finance.
• Strong communicator across regulatory, technical, and board‑level conversations.

Nice to Have

• Prior experience setting up a licensing function from scratch or operating as the senior #2 in one at scale.
• Background at a stablecoin, digital asset, or payments business with a meaningful global licensing footprint.
• Existing relationships with regulators in priority jurisdictions for institutional digital assets.
• Experience supporting fundraising or M&A processes from the regulatory side.
• Prior experience hiring and leading a small licensing or regulatory team.

What We Offer

• A senior, function‑defining role with direct access to the founders and meaningful influence over Overchain’s regulatory strategy.
• Ownership of one of the most strategically important functions in the business, with real impact on long‑term enterprise value.
• The means to build out a team as the licensing portfolio grows.
• Primarily on‑site in London, with hybrid flexibility reflecting the travel demands of the role.
• £90,000–£120,000 base salary dependent on experience, plus a discretionary bonus.
• Travel budget covering regulator engagement and the major institutional finance, payments, and digital asset calendar.

To apply or learn more, please get in touch with the Overchain team.